Gun Guys: A Road Trip

New York Review of Books: “Baum sets out to understand what motivates so many Americans to be “gun guys”… [and] depicts these people and their different motives with genuine empathy.”

San Francisco Chronicle: “A surprisingly funny book, Gun Guys: A Road Trip is an insightful exploration that brings some much-needed humanity to gun lovers and gun haters.” (Also ran in the Miami Herald.)

Dallas Morning News:“For those who prefer humorous, literate and honest discussion about (guns) to frothy ranting, Gun Guys will hit the spot.” (Also ran in the Tulsa World, the Columbus Dispatch, and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.)

Newsday: “Baum can still shoot, as demonstrated by a riveting chapter on some arduous gunfight training he endures. But more important, Baum can write. Schlepping among the gun lovers with this guy is unfailingly diverting as well as illuminating.”

Christian Science Monitor:“A wonderfully guileless and open-minded guide to American gun culture…. Baum, a fearless reporter of sharp eye and witty phrase, has done a public service.”

San Diego Union-Tribune: “A provocative, probing and frequently funny journey deep into the mentality of the approximately 40 percent of Americans who own guns.”

Buffalo News ”This is a breezy, anecdote-filled, humorous read, penned by a terrific writer who travels across much of the country to learn what makes his fellow gun owners tick.”

Bloomberg: “As a writer, Baum doesn’t have it in him to lay down a dull sentence. (Gun Guys) is wise, considered, delectably written, fun to read and wholly lacking in tendentiousness.” (Also ran in the New Haven Register and on Newsmax.)

Boston Globe“An evenhanded and witty exposé of hardcore firearms culture… Baum hones and polishes his investigation like he would an antique Winchester.”

Florida Times-Union: “A fascinating look at a part of our culture often vilified without recourse.”

Mother Jones: “He tackles this polarizing subject with an anthropologist’s eye, and in the end wonders if the left’s anti-gun sentiment distracts from a progressive agenda that working-class gun guys might support—if only they didn’t think Obama was coming for their arsenal.”